Thanks in a large part to the day's revelations; the young Coordinator felt a whirlwind of emotions storming through his conscience. Making matters worse, taking on the GAT-X131 Calamity in a mobile suit showdown was not the ideal location for long philosophical brainstorming.

Since the first day he remembered, Kira never imagined the possibility of being adopted. He had always gotten along with his mother and father; it seemed inconceivable the same parents he'd known and loved all his life weren't biologically related.

The same parents who happily raised him as their own. The same parents who, despite Kira's doubts, persuaded him that Coordinator or not he could still open up to others, making friends in Heliopolis. The same parents who stayed up alongside him until the crack of dawn assisting in his complex schoolwork for Professor Kato. The same parents who provided extra attention and comfort after his separation from Athrun, convincing him his best friend left more behind than just Birdy.

Since the Archangel's first landing in Orb, Kira never felt so guilty for childishly avoiding them.

They deserved better.

Adding another troublesome branch to the newly problematic family tree, Uzumi Nara Athha's parting photograph was apparently accurate; meaning him and Cagalli Yula Athha truly are brother and sister. While he was already cautious thanks to said sister's earlier picture, simple suspicions and having such skepticism confirmed were completely different scenarios.

His eventual confrontation with Cagalli was one discussion he was totally unsure on handling properly.

While his family members, regardless of when he learned of their existence, were all great people Kira could not say the same towards his biological father.

Dr. Ulen Hibiki.

A phenomenally bright and ambitious scientist. Revered by everyone he knew and at the peak of his career, Dr. Hibiki was responsible for arguably one of the greatest achievements in human enhancement since George Glenn.

The Ultimate Coordinator Project.

The idea of being born outside his mother's womb made Kira sick to his stomach. A most unwelcome feeling while piloting a mobile suit.

As a Coordinator, Kira made an effort to study the roots of such alterations. He quickly learned that the mother's womb was the only obstacle preventing absolute genetic adjustment. Although there was a small group of scientists who researched possible methods to overcome such a hurdle, no advancements occurred. The professionals he studied about deemed the project a lost cause and eventually axed it because of the insanely implausible chance for making progress.

To think his father actually succeeded…

All for the sake of accomplishing undeniable happiness.

What a joke.

It neared too much for him. Kira could hardly keep up with the absurd amount of revelations spiraling through his mind.

If his self-discoveries were not enough, the masked ZAFT commander's origins took the cake. Other than the man in question, who would have guessed Kira, Mwu and Rau were intertwined in such a bizarre secret?

Apparently, cloning was another of his father's specialties. A team of mini Al Da Flagas sealed their partnership.

Kira could not forget the man's words, no matter how badly he desired.

Nobody can do anything about it. For the whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe! If that's what they truly desire, why don't they simply exterminate each other!

The final door is about to open. And I'm the one opening it! Then the world that we know will come to an end. This world of insatiable desires will end!

Just what was Rau Le Crueset up to? How could he, one man, make such an unbelievably bold, yet malicious declaration so confidently? Kira had no doubts of the masked commander's emotional stability, or rather lack thereof. He could not prevent himself fearing whatever plans Al Da Flaga's clone had conjured up for the future.

His pondering was forcefully shoved aside as the Calamity's Schlag beam canon shots improved in their accuracy, compelling Kira to increase his focus. Unless the Coordinator had a secret wish of getting incinerated, he could not afford being on the receiving end of such attacks.

Regardless of the circumstances, such thoughts needed to be put on hold for the duration of the battle. Mental catastrophes be damned.

At the moment, all he had to do was take on that blue mobile suit.

Fully confronting a mass of jumbled discoveries came later.

'Where is it? Where is it?'

She continued looking through the windows of the life pod, hoping against hope to reach a certain vessel.

What she saw made her shake uncontrollably, beyond terrified.

'Where is it? Where is it?'

Other than the ZAFT vessels, Flay Allster did not recognize the ships involved in the gargantuan space melee. The light blue and pink warships' identity was above her limited military knowledge.

She figured she understood. That she knew the hardships and struggles of war. Thinking back, the redhead finally realized the truth. During the entirety of her time aboard the Archangel…Flay didn't understand a thing.

'Where is it? Where the hell is it?'

Flay began shifting from window to window. Hoping, begging to find her desired destination. The girl was inches away from becoming frantic to a level of borderline psychosis. If her search remained unsuccessful for an additional ten seconds, she probably would have.

Taking in the sight, her eyes widened and her heart accelerated. Unless she suddenly required glasses with a powerful prescription, the familiar warship was in her line of sight.

The Archangel!

Flay wasted no time. Totally unfamiliar with ZAFT technology, she pressed miscellaneous buttons continuously in record time. With any luck, the Archangel would receive her signal and retrieve their former crew member.

"Archangel! Archangel!"

Nothing.

She was not about to give up, however, and resumed her desperate cries for help.

"Archangel! Come in, Archangel! Please respond!"

Attempting to contact the Archangel in vain over and over was beginning to take its toll on the girl. Her unease caused an avalanche of unwanted questions hurling on top of her. Why was she unable in getting through to them? Did she have incredibly bad luck? Was there some kind of jamming interference like what Sai once told her about? Perhaps a malfunction somewhere? If so, the life pod was only marginally above scrap metal!

Continuing her panicked button-pressing frenzy, Flay called out, hoping against hope someone, anyone heard her call. The redhead was unaware that she configured the correct signal, accomplishing just that.

"Archangel!!!"

Sai Argyle was no longer a civilian.

That he knew with absolute certainty.

Since Heliopolis, the young Natural saw firsthand how war… transformed people. He could do nothing to prevent such occurrences, as his only attempt on taking offensive action landed him in solitary confinement. Instead the boy found himself as an observer, noting the agony of others while providing whatever support possible, regardless of how minimal.

His own problems… not even worth mentioning. No greater than schoolgirl drama compared to his friends' suffering.

Miriallia Haw being a prime example.

He remembered the old Miriallia. The nice girl who made friends with everyone. From Flay to Kira, without her their group of friends wouldn't exist. Everyone liked Miriallia Haw. Her befriending abilities extended to the Archangel's crew as well, making the aftermath of the Marshall Islands showdown that much worse for morale.

Following Tolle's disappearance, later discovering his passing Miriallia was, simply put, a wreck. She hardly ate or drank; preferring time spent sulking alone in contrast to her bright, cheerful, optimistic disposition.

His own attempts to enliven her mood failing miserably, her involvement with Dearka Elsman became quite the surprise. From the Buster's pilot's prior comments, Sai figured he ended up on Miriallia's shit list forever.

The two bonded much quicker than he ever guessed possible. As an onlooker, he found their banter quite entertaining once the initial awkwardness from their 'friendship' settled in.

She could deny it all she wanted. Sai was not fooled. Dearka Elsman and only Dearka Elsman turned her frowns upside down.

Thanks to a combination of his observations and the Archangel's 'cursed' status, Sai taught himself preparedness. Always anticipating the unexpected on a seemingly average day.

He understood. They needed verification. Her former fiancée's word proved unarguable.

"That's Flay. No doubt about it."

'That voice.'

Could it be?

He thought he had lost her.

"Flay." The young Coordinator gasped, hoping the sound of her voice was not a figment of his imagination.

At that moment, time stood still. One after another, past events kept surfacing in Kira's mind.

Images.

Words.

Sensations.

All of the Flay Allster he knew. Of the Flay Allster he loved.

I don't want any of you Coordinator's acting friendly with me!

You didn't make any serious attempt to fight, did you? It's because you're a Coordinator too!

I want you to know I'm sorry. You fought the best you could. You were out there protecting us.

We'll be fine, because Kira will be out there. He's fighting to protect us.

I can't fight by your side, but my thoughts will protect you.

So how… so how… how could you feel any sympathy for someone like me?

Kira…Kira, I – With an impending battle on the horizon, Kira had no time for chatter. Although he initially avoided eye contact, it took little time to face her once again, finishing his words with a smile. Sorry, not now. But…later.

As he gazed towards the life pod, he felt a strange weight lifted, akin to a large boulder taken off his shoulders. When Sai told him Flay was no longer aboard, Kira felt a small part of him dying inside. Everyone knew what happened at Alaska. What truly happened, leading to the Archangel's defection. While Flay's survival was not guaranteed to be lost, no one doubted Mwu only survived from his return to the ship.

Despite how others regard him, Kira hid his devastation well. Losing the opportunity to hear what Flay wanted back then only added to the inner misery.

After his intense death-match with Athrun, Flay most likely felt the same. He was sure of it. Neither of them deserved such pain, and he opted to put an end to it, no matter what.

He would die before losing her again.

Knowing what must be done, Kira felt his focus returning. His troubles fading.

So what if he was adopted?

Blood or no blood, the Yamato family were just that… a family. Some masked man's words could never break them apart.

Newly discovered relations with Cagalli?

He was already suspicious before setting foot in Mendel. Any initial shock quickly wore off thanks to said sister's earlier picture.

A clone of Mwu's father?

Out of sight, out of mind. For the moment, at least.

The Ultimate what?

He didn't give a damn about that.

Such thoughts could be explored later. Kira Yamato had only one objective coursing through his mind.

Saving Flay.

As the mysterious feminine voice kept calling out, he quickly noticed it caused everyone on the battlefield had stopped to cease movement. While he and his comrade were in battle with the red mobile suit, the aforementioned machine's pilot effortlessly perceived it and remained on guard, regardless of any surprising voices.

The other mobile suit, however, was not.

Standing still smack-dab in the middle of the combat zone was beyond a trainee-level error. Momentarily leaving the Forbidden to the Justice, Clotho Buer intended on capitalizing such a convenient opportunity.

"Fatality!" Declaring one of his favorite video game quotes, the Raider's pilot prepared to follow through with the announcement. It took nearly a second to charge, and even less time to fire the Zorn cannon blast from the mouth. Clotho could practically taste victory from the inevitable slaughter only moments to come.

Or in any case, that was the plan.

An instant before contact the white mobile suit parried to the right, quickly turning around with a beam rifle in hand. The Freedom kept shooting towards the Raider with no indication to discontinue.

The red haired pilot growled in frustration. At first glance, the immense amount of times Kira pulled the trigger gave him the appearance of an amateur firing wildly; wasting energy like a third-rate rookie.

Clotho Buer quickly discovered that was not the case. He couldn't afford to make any smartass comments or display a shred of overconfidence. The redhead needed complete concentration in simply evading the attacks, leaving no room for retaliation.

"You're shittin' me!" What happened to that pilot? A few seconds ago, his technique was sluggish enough to make any veteran pick him apart with ease. The Freedom pilot's skills instantly raised to a level Clotho never faced before.

The one sided exchange of fire lasted a solid thirty seconds. During that time, he noticed the space between them gradually increasing. Until the mobile suit sped off in another direction, racing towards the life pod.

Apparently, the Freedom's pilot had higher priorities.

If that didn't piss off Clotho Buer, nothing could.

Hearing the captive's identity, along with seeing the Freedom soaring in that direction, Natarle Badgiruel showed no hesitation. Seeing the Archangel's defection, the newly appointed captain didn't know the extent of what happened to the crew, especially to the point where they would refuse returning to the Earth Forces. With that in mind, Natarle believed it was in Flay's best interest if she didn't encounter the Archangel. In addition to saving a fellow officer, having her aboard the Dominion would prevent the redhead from seeing how they… changed.

"Calamtiy! Ensign Sabnack! Retrieve that life pod!"

Through communications on his end, Natarle heard Orga's confusion alongside the sounds of the Calamity's Scylla cannon firing relentlessly upon the Justice. Time was ticking and the Calamity pilot's bewilderment was not helping matters in the slightest.

"Hurry, Ensign Sabnack!"

After a slight growl from Orga, the Calamity joined in the race. Disobeying orders was the last thing he wanted. The 'biological CPU' knew firsthand the punishment for failure was far worse than anything the enemies could inflict upon him.

His ZAFT contacts were correct, that life pod came from the Vesalius. The ship commandeered by the infamous Rau Le Creuset, the one Coordinator Azrael's passionate loathing waned slightly than all others. Hearing his voice admitting Flay's release filled the Blue Cosmos director with a giddiness rivaling a kid in a candy store. While he had no idea what Rau's been plotting under his sleeve, he knew the masked commander would supply him information more than beneficial for the preservation of a blue and pure world.

Coordinators assisting in the eradication of their own kind. Azrael saluted that philosophy. If only they kept tabs on that Strike pilot…

Ah well. No use crying over spilled milk, as they say.

As long as that pod was retrieved, his life was peachy.

Their method of exchanging fire was less than professional. Sloppy, imprecise, half-assed mobile suit combat at best, the pilots were simply uncoordinated during their battle, pun intended.

In fact, it greatly reminded him of two other friends forced into combat. Dearka Elsman barely suppressed a chuckle at the thought. 'Funny… this was like the way Athrun and Kira fought when this whole thing started.'

Facing off against the GAT-X102 Dual, the Buster stuck to its guns. In battle with Yzak, Dearka refrained from either combining his weapons or firing a single missile towards his former comrade.

Likewise, Yzak Joule used only the beam rifle. The Dual's pilot restricted himself from using the railgun or the missile pod. While he would never ordinarily consider such tactics, his earlier conversation with Dearka continued playing loudly in his mind. It infuriated him to no end that his friend, his best friend would even consider joining the Legged Ship. Even so, he could not prevent himself showing mercy. Not now.

At a standstill, Dearka took a moment to quickly view his surroundings. The Eternal and Kusanagi were making progress getting past the three Nazcas. Orb's M1 Astrays were, surprisingly enough, holding their own against the GINNs, as well as the remaining Strike Daggers. The Archangel and the Dominion continued their epic battle as well, neither side gaining the upper hand.

He also noticed the major mobile suits all seemed fixated on retrieving the ZAFT life pod. The Freedom, as well as the Earth Forces blue and black mobile suits were making a beeline in that direction. Why would they do that? What was he missing here? The mysterious lady's voice sounded attractive to be sure, but that could not have been the reason. While he wouldn't consider himself best buds with the former Strike pilot, Dearka was under the impression that Kira Yamato was not the kind of pilot who primarily thought with his dick on the battlefield.

If only he knew the irony of such-

'Wait a minute. What the hell?'

Dearka was taken from his thoughts as the Forbidden came into his line of sight. Unlike the others however, its target was not the life pod. It was heading towards the Freedom.

His eyes narrowed.

Kira was a good pilot. A damn good pilot, in fact. Whether inside the Strike or the Freedom, Dearka discerned firsthand the brunette's skill was nothing short of legendary. Even so, as an experienced soldier he was not about to envision him as some form of deity in a mobile suit. The blond never believed in such nonsense.

Nicknames. Reputation. War stories. He knew such people were anything but infallible.

With all three EAF mobile suits closing in, Dearka clearly understood his comrade was on the verge of a losing battle. Kira's apparent primary target being the life pod only served to support the assessment. Interference needed to occur.

He had to make it happen.

'I hate to do this to ya buddy, but I got not no choice.'

Dearka had to give his friend some credit. Yzak deserved it. Considering his combat performance the Dual's pilot seemed to have absorbed his words fairly well, leaving them both with plenty of food for thought.

His arm raised, Dearka pressed the buttons near the top of the cockpit indicating communication. Getting past the Dual through discussion was worth a shot if he could do it quickly.

Knowing his friend could hear the words, Dearka began. "Sorry Yzak."

He heard his friend gasping in confusion, but continued before the silver haired pilot's short temper interrupted. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have time to deal with this right now. A friend needs my help, so I gotta get goin'."

Yzak hastily interjected. "What the… what the hell are you talking about Dearka? We may have been friends, but what makes you think I'll let you get past me?"

Dearka started lowering his weapons.

"Just that Yzak. Just that. I'll say it one more time: if we've really become enemies, then shoot me."

Without waiting for a response, the Buster sped away from the Dual.

Dearka knew he was walking on eggshells making such a bold declaration in Yzak's face. His former teammate's short temper made him the worst possible candidate of the Le Crueset Team for successful negotiation.

The blond took quite the risk turning his back on Yzak Joule.

To his credit, the Dual never fired a single attack towards his direction. Despite temporarily locking onto the Buster, it never attacked at all.

As fast as his mobile suit's thrusters allowed, Dearka headed on a collision course with the Forbidden. Wasting no time, he connected the Buster's guns immediately after the enemy machine came into his line of sight.

"Oh no ya don't!"

Only needing an instant, he had a clear shot.

He took it.

Dearka had to admit, the Forbidden's pilot possessed impressive reflexes.

Not even a second following the Buster's attack, Shani Andras was already prepared. On impulse, he stopped chasing the Freedom opting instead to face the Buster. The Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer deflection armor in position, effectively guarding the machine. The massive heat blast collided with its shields pushing it back, throwing the mobile suit off balance.

"Damn you!" He yelled, surprised at the enemy's firepower.

Dearka narrowed his eyes. 'That guy… he's good.'

He never encountered a Natural with such skill before, sans Mwu La Flaga. Against an opponent of that caliber, Dearka Elsman could not afford to play games.

That in mind he pursued the enemy, relentlessly continuing his assault.

"Take this!"

"Sorry Yzak."

His eyes widening slightly, Yzak Joule gasped. The shock from Dearka's recently discovered survival had not worn off. 'What's he up to?'

Before he could retort, Dearka spoke again. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have time to deal with this right now. A friend needs my help, so I gotta get goin'."

"What the… what the hell are you talking about Dearka? We may have been friends, but what makes you think I'll let you get past me?" His interjection came swiftly.

His surprise only increased upon witnessing the Buster lowering its armaments.

"Just that Yzak. Just that. I'll say it one more time: if we've really become enemies, then shoot me."

As the Buster immediately raced towards the green Earth Forces mobile suit, Yzak was speechless; though his hesitation did not last long. Activating the Dual's scope, he planned on taking Dearka down. He would show his friend the error of his ways.

Along with alleviating those confusing thoughts out of his head.

It seems like all we're trying to do is wipe out every last Natural!

I wonder… which one of us is really being deceived.

Yzak shook his head. He had to overcome. No matter how honest, how righteous and how convincing Dearka's arguments seemed, he could not afford believing a traitor.

Locking onto the Buster came quicker than expected. Yzak found himself lingering to pull the trigger.

Could he do it?

Could he really kill Dearka?

Damn the war for placing him in this position!

He and Athrun were friends since they were little kids.

His hesitation continued.

If Dearka's words were true…

Did Athrun experience this feeling the whole time? Such helplessness where one could do nothing but cry out to the heavens from such injustice? Of all possibilities, Yzak never thought he'd understand Athrun today. Now if he saw him, the silver haired pilot would only give him a light punch to the face.

His chance left as quickly as it started. Yzak could hardly determine whether to feel angered or thankful as the Buster pressed onward, away from his targeting zone. Choosing the former, he slammed his fist inside the cockpit.

"Damn!"

He did not give chase. His orders rang loud and clear as he sped towards the Eternal. Yzak cursed again, unable to prevent the feeling of relief flooding through his system after sparing his best friend.

From sparing his 'enemy'.

If we've really become enemies, then shoot me.

Or were they enemies?

Yzak sighed deeply. If Athrun felt this way following every battle against the Strike…

Instead of a punch, he would now receive a good measured slap upon their next meeting.

He had enough of this nonsense.

That pilot would go down today.

Finally catching up to the Freedom, Clotho Buer planned to make it happen.

Just a little closer.

He was pleased to notice the pilot hadn't reacted to his presence. One humiliation after another, the redhead was getting sick and tired of these guys. The powerful red and white mobile suits accomplished driving him up the wall. All three of them. Orga and Shani undoubtedly shared his desire to watch them explode in a beautiful flurry of fire, shrapnel and exclusively in Shani's case, all those pretty lights.

Almost there, just a little more.

Clotho prepped his Mjolnir hammer. An instant, smooth decapitation sounded delicious in his eyes. A fitting start in destroying the villain who defeated them continually, the boss he couldn't kill no matter how times they fought.

There. Perfect.

A devilish smile appeared on his face. "Game over!" He shouted, launching his attack.

That fool would think twice before turning his back on Clotho Buer!

Only to miss.

An instant following release, a shot collided the weapon's side. While not enough to destroy the Mjolnir, it succeeded in throwing it off course.

Noticing the red mobile suit was behind the interception, Clotho cursed. Why wouldn't these things just die already? He fumed. The Freedom already forgotten, he intended on showing the Justice his own definition of that word.

Chaos and destruction to anyone that stood in his way.

Athrun Zala knew he couldn't play around, immediately springing into action. Grasping the Bassel beam boomerang from the left shoulder, the Justice launched the weapon towards the Raider. His attack was easily parried, but that didn't bother him in the least.

Clotho positioned the Raider's shield cannon directly at the enemy mobile suit. So intent on destroying the Justice, he forgot one important lesson.

Boomerangs came back.

By the time he heard the weapon's whirling sound, it was too late. When a boomerang returned to its initial master, nothing stood in the way. Anything that tried became a mere obstacle. The Raider's right leg being ripped to pieces was a testament of the fact.

Its pilot wasn't even allowed time to curse as three shots from the Justice simultaneously tore through the machine's right arm, turning it to space dust. Once he regained control of his mobile suit, Clotho was beyond angry. Not only from the damage, but witnessing the red mobile suit soaring in another direction.

Evidently, the Justice's pilot was needed elsewhere, the Raider no longer worth his time.

Just like the Freedom.

He angrily fired from the Zorn energy cannon towards the Justice, though aimed poorly; his fury overriding his focus.

Athrun didn't even need to move. He simply kept on flying.

Clotho screamed at the top of his lungs, facing humiliation once again.

Unbeknownst to the Raider's pilot, Kira was well aware of his 'surprise' attack. Luckily for him, he needn't take action. Thanks to Athrun and Dearka's impeccable timing his path to Flay went uninterrupted.

The ZAFT life pod in his sight, the young Coordinator envisioned success. He would get Flay out of this war zone and back to the Archangel. Back to safety.

Back where she belonged.

Back to him.

Or so he imagined.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Quickly dodging a Schlag cannon attack, Kira found himself face to face with the Calamity once more. The enemy mobile suit positioned itself directly in front of the life pod.

'Damn!' Kira narrowed his eyes. He couldn't afford using any firepower. The risk of involving Flay through collateral damage was too great.

Ruthlessly attacking without pause, Orga Sabnak knew this. With the enemy having such reservation to fire near the ZAFT life pod, he'd consider himself an idiot to pass up taking advantage of the situation. His comrades would do the same, as the white and red mobile suits were the cause of many punishment sessions since the attack on that neutral nation. Even if Azrael ordered their capture, Orga doubted his boss would throw a fit to see one of those thorns in their sides going up in smokes.

Besides, without eliminating the threat he couldn't successfully retrieve the life pod.

Evading barrage after barrage of the Calamity's long range arsenal, the Freedom charged the enemy. As the mobile suit approached, each hand drew a beam saber. Its parrying wasn't perfect, however, as the Earth Forces mobile suit's Schylla cannon blazed through the Freedom's left arm, annihilating both the mechanical limb and the weapon it carried. Luckily, the Freedom's incredible speed prevented the machine from being pushed back following the blast.

Under normal circumstances, Kira Yamato wouldn't dream of entertaining these thoughts. Stopping confrontations resulting in the lowest amount of casualties possible stuck to the forefront of his mind during a battle.

Never kill, always disable. It sounded so easy, but only through accomplished pilots like Athrun Zala and Kira himself made it possible. Nearly every other would become overwhelmed from the disadvantages such ideology possessed on the front lines.

But this time the stakes were just too high.

He could not, would not gamble her life because of such 'handicapping'.

"Flay!!!" Using her name as a battle cry, the Freedom's right arm shoved the beam saber directly through the Calamity's cockpit. He didn't even bother retrieving the weapon, resuming his course to the life pod. His demeanor remained unchanged as the enemy mobile suit exploded.

Only one priority in his mind: Flay Allster.

Configuring communications to all channels, Kira began speaking. Others eavesdropping didn't concern him at the moment.

"Flay? Flay, can you hear me? I'll get you out of here."

He heard several sharp intakes of breath from other ends and a response that filled his heart with joy.

"Kira? Is that… is that you?"

A/N

Well, to be honest I have some other Gundam SEED plot ideas I wanted to write, but considering I haven't written any non-crack Gundam SEED fanfiction at the moment I figured I'd get started on this first as sort of a practice run (I was originally going to make this a one-shot, but I've changed my mind to make it a bit longer). Mainly to see if I'm capable of writing in this fandom without turning it into a gigantic pile of Chocobo excrements.

Thoughts? Comments? Critiques? Other stuff? I'd love to hear it.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.